A Midnight Talk
by DutchNadya
Summary: Kili can't sleep on this one night during the journey. Time for a talk with his uncle.


**Hi, This is my first hobbit fanfic, so please be nice. I do not own the hobbit or any of its characters.  
I hope you enjoy.  
Lots of love, Nadya **

It had been a though day.  
Well.. not like any of the other days had been much better. Still this particular day had made nearly all the members of the company of Thorin Oakenshield grumpy, tired and simply close to despair.

It had been raining. All day. From the moment they woke up, al soaked down and already cold. Till the moment Thorin screamed for them to stop. Now, they were cold, unbelievable cold. And the fact that it was near night, and because without movement their own bodies would not warm themselves, meant they were getting colder with every moment passing. All blankets, clothing, everything that could keep them warm, was drenched. And all the wood lying around was to wet to burn, not relieving them in any way.

Most of the dwarves had dropped down to the ground when once told to stop. Eating some raw food in their place and laying down in a cold sleep. Too tired to talk and eager to escape the cold by closing their minds from the day and night.

Thorin himself had watch and he positioned himself on a small log, giving him a good view of his surroundings. And while he watched the woods for any potential danger, many snores could be heard from the deeply sleeping dwarves.

Except for one. Kili turned and tossed. Lying down with closed eyes but completely restless. He tried lying on one side, then the other, shifting back and forth a few times. It did not work.  
Next to Kili lay his brother. Fili, who as always lay protectively close, moved around a bit at Kili's restlessness. Kili immediately stilled. He might not care for waking up others of the company on any other day. But the rest of the company was rather grumpy and Fili had seemed down all day.

Fili hath not said a worth about it, of course, but they've been brothers for 77 years. Kili knew Fili better than anyone. Fili needed a good, dry and most importantly warm night and in the morning all would be right again.

Kili however was not sick, tired or even really cold. Back when he was younger his mother would say the bright spirit of his soul warmed the veins of his body. And she might be right, because there were not many moments he had felt awful because of the changes in weather. So, today, Kili was all smiles.. as… well .. always.

Unfortunate the others were not so lucky with their resistance against these horrific weather circumstances. And that was something that could damper Kili's spirit. He might be all fun and jokes, but he liked to share his happiness. In most cases and preferably in all cases, with his brother. But sometimes he enjoyed spending his fun with other friends or company-members.

But today all were grumpy. And Kili was bored. And restless, since he had not been able to retrieve his energy all day. His young body had saved it all. Causing these open eyes and the moving body parts in the dark of the night.

When Fili stilled again and seemed to sleep deeply, Kili moved. He took a look at his uncle. Thorin was not focussed on him, as his gaze seemed unfocussed. As if he was deep in thought. That seemed to happen a lot lately. Most likely dreaming about Erebor, was all Kili thought.

Kili himself had never seen it. The great dwarven kingdom of Erebor. Kili was looking forward to it. Though after a life of living in small villages and sometimes even sleeping underneath the sky, he was not sure he would know how to be an prince. How to act like a prince.

Kili stood, planning to take a walk. It had finally stopped raining. And he needed to lose some energy. For a moment he turned around, draping his blanket over his brother, hopefully giving Fili a warmer night and possibly a happier day.  
With his eyes fixed on his uncle Kili walked around camp.

'You could not sleep, lad?' his uncle questioned when Kili reached him.

'Neh' Kili answered. Thorin gave him a questionable look. So Kili questioned: 'You not tired?'

Thorin smiled. 'Not really.' He patted the place beside him for Kili to sit.  
Kili obligated.

For a while neither spoke, they just shared watch.

But Kili had never been good at sitting still for a long time.

Within 15 minutes he started ticking his foot on the ground, annoying even the most patience of people. Thorin only snickered.

'Never one to sit still.' He spoke.

'We are not sitting still much.' Kili answered. Followed by a snicker: 'Thankfully.'

'The only one not complaining about our quick pace.' Thorin spoke with a smile.

Kili first only nodded. But then decided to speak his mind. 'Not the only one.'

Thorin smirked and patted his nephew on the back. 'I am eager to reach our destination.'

Kili did not add a word at that. Causing Thorin to look at him in.. something of worry but also determination. Kili knew this look; it mend his uncle wanted answers.

'I am.' Kili spoke with honesty. 'I really do. It's just…' he was not sure how to continue. 'What was it like? To be an prince?' Kili decided to question.

But Thorin was not easily fouled. He knew there was more to it. 'Hard. At times. But also a privilege.' He looked at his nephew, who did not face him. 'You'll do fine.'

Kili froze. He looked back at his uncle for a moment. 'Fili will' he grumbled.

'What.'

'Fili will do fine.'

'So will you.'

Kili gave a disbelieving laugh. 'You remember which nephew you are talking to? Reckless. Your words, not mine.'

This made Thorin laugh. A real laugh. The kinds of laughs Kili had missed. Lately Thorin had been leader. King. Lord. But not like he had been before. Some might not believe so, but even Thorin the Great had an softer side.

Kili leaned back against his uncle. Thorin welcomed his weight.

'You will do fine. You and your brother both. And I will be there to help you.' Thorin whispered but his voice was strong as he spoke with complete confidence.

Kili gave something of a nod and he placed his head against his uncles shoulder. 'Still a long road to go.'

'Our pace is strong, and our hearths even stronger. We shall reach our destination soon. I assure you.' Thorin told him.

Kili nodded again. Feeling tiredness in his eyes.

'You should sleep, your blanket might be dry by now.'

Kili gave a small whisper in return. 'I will.' But he did not move and only brought his body in a nicer position, snuggling against Thorins side.

Thorin did not say anything about it. He just watched as Kili's eyes closed completely and a soft snoring came from his mouth. Thorin placed his arm around the youth.

And so on that night Thorin shared his watch, and eventually even his blanket, for a big part of the night. And when it was time to wake up Dwalin for his part of the shift, Thorin decided against it.

When light came through the trees, Dwalin woke. As he stood he looked at his long-time friend. A smile spread over his face as he walked towards him.

'He became too heavy or you became too old?' Dwalin questioned with mirth.

Thorin grunted in reply.

Dwalin had a good laugh at that. 'There is still time left to sleep. Want to carry him back?'

Thorin thought about that for a moment. As an uncle he wanted to keep Kili close to him, but as a smart leader, he knew he had to sleep. And there was no way he could sleep in this position. So he nodded to Dwalin, who did not wait and carefully brought the youth into his arms. Thorin tried to stand up and help , or more, take over the weight of his nephew. But then he grunted as his muscles stretched after the long night.

'I've got it.' Dwalin spoke, taking over immediately, laying Kili down next to Fili. Fili woke a bit at that, seemingly confused that he had not noticed his brother absence. But Fili did not speak, he just moved closer to Kili, laying one of the blankets on top of him, over his brothers body and he once again closed his eyes. This time his sleep was less deep though, but more focussed on his brother next to him.

Dwalin turned back around. By now Thorin was up and he moving towards a place to sleep. However, he was still moving his shoulders up and down, trying to remove the last bit of strain. Dwalin grimaced. 'No shame in getting old.'

Thorin did not reply, too tired to understand the words. But as he lay down, very closely to his nephews, his mind got up and he growled harshly.

A laugh was all that came back to him.

To old. What a lot of rubbish!

**So I hoped you like it! **

**Please review. **

**Lots of love, Nadya. **


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